It's quite possible that a lot of GMs whiffed on Drummond, including Colangelo. My sense is that Calhoun at Connecticut tends to bury or "hide" Freshmen in the hopes that they stay in college for a year or two extra, which could explain why Drummond didn't show that well in college. It will be interesting to see how he develops as a pro.

Didn't look like he was being guarded really closely or well, but he was in the right spots and had to make the baskets and collec t the rebounds. Can't take anything away from him.

I agree with this. He does deserve much credit and it looks like he is going to be much better and sooner than many, including myself, have given him credit for.

I'm a Raptor fan, I'm a homer. There is no doubt about it. Obviously anything I say is going to need a chunk of salt with it, especially in relation to JV. With that said:

There was no one near Drummond's size on Milwaukee in many of those highlights. That dunk on Ilyasova was sick. He out-muscled and out-worked the Bucks' front line.

He also collected 6 fouls in 25 minutes. I did not see the game but I am going to make an assumption (that very easily could be wrong) many of those fouls were on Dalembert, Ilyasova and/or Henson since Monroe had just 1 foul. Those 3 guys went a combined 14/18 from the foul line. Dalembert and Ilyasova also had extremely good games.

Drummond was 1/4 from the FT line which is pretty much on par with his college ft shooting.

The Pistons were routed. Most of the 4th quarter was a 20 point game. Good on Drummond for not mailing it in but I have a feeling many on Milwaukee did (again, huge assumption on my part).

Final thing with regards to Drummond and JV debate: JV creates opportunities and space for his teammates with his style of play and appears to have a much higher bball IQ. I don't think Drummond takes up the space or garners the attention that JV does. Most of the plays from Drummond appear to be from Milwaukee players missing box outs and teammates finding him out of help or double team situations.

Again, I know I am a biased homer but once you get past Drummond's highlight worthy plays, JV appears to be a much better basketball player and I am glad JV is a Raptor.

The Ross pick was not made because he was the BPA, just that he fit in with what Casey needs (shooter who can defend) more so than anyone else left in the draft.

Almost always, beyond the first pick or two, BPA is a very subjective evaluation. What's funny is when fans claim the BPA concept wasn't followed because the team didn't pick their personal subjective choice.

Almost always, beyond the first pick or two, BPA is a very subjective evaluation. What's funny is when fans claim the BPA concept wasn't followed because the team didn't pick their personal subjective choice.

From Alex Rucker

“Best player available” doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It exists in the context of your team, the players on your roster, and how that player will fit in with those things. I think sometimes people confuse “most potential” or “most skilled player” with “best”. Analytically, “best” relates to the sum of a player’s contributions to his team – and that’s rarely going to align with either of those two alternate definitions.

Its not that difficult to believe the Raptors didn't draft BPA but rather best fit.

I'm not sure why there is even a Drummond - JV debate. They were drafted in different years and its not as if Colangelo passed on one for the other. Nor is it inconceivable that they could have played together. I'm not sure there should even be a Ross - Drummond debate.

I think if there is to be a debate it should be WHY did Colangelo pass on Drummond (or whoever else one may have liked for that matter)? Which I don't think for a second was because Ross was or wasn't a better player. Rather Drummond was a project, Ross was the most likely non-big man to contribute in the short run, and Colangelo had holes to fill in order to try and win now. That shouldn't be taken as a knock on Ross

As for Drummond, he's only played 3 preseason games so I don't think the sample is large enough to give any indication of how good he could or will be. But I do think he's proven some of the his critics wrong in that he has shown both a motor and basketball instinct.

I think JV could easily slide over the PF, if Raps drafted Drummond. JV certainly has good enough shooting form to extend his range as a PF and also the mobility to guard PFs. A JV/Drummond front court would have been kind of like a Bynum-Gasol tandem, but even more athletic, if that's possible. Of course, that would mean we would have to get rid of Bargnani. But then, that's where you package Bargs, Jose, Ed Davis and Demar to OKC for James Harden. Now you got a Drummond, JV, Fields, Harden, Lowry starting lineup. Then you somehow draft Wiggins to replace Fields. :-)

A JV/Drummond front court would have been kind of like a Bynum-Gasol tandem, but even more athletic, if that's possible.

A JV/Drummond frontcourt would be like a Noah-DeAndre Jordan frontcourt, at best. Bynum and Gasol are both great low post scorers, and Gasol has an excellent high post and midrange game too. So far neither JV nor Drummond have shown any post scoring ability whatsoever.

A JV/Drummond frontcourt would be like a Noah-DeAndre Jordan frontcourt, at best. Bynum and Gasol are both great low post scorers, and Gasol has an excellent high post and midrange game too. So far neither JV nor Drummond have shown any post scoring ability whatsoever.

Perhaps the assumption is that Jonas has the potential to develop a reliable mid-range game (based on his good free throw shooting mechanics).

But then again, Gasol is a solid passer too. Not sure if Jonas has that ability.